Pinnacles now a national park

President Obama on Thursday signed into law H.R. 3641, the “Pinnacles National Park Act,” re-designating the 26,000 acres Pinnacles National Monument as the Pinnacles National Park. It will be the first park on California’s Central Coast. California now has nine national parks, more than any other state.

The Pinnacles is about 80 miles south of San Francisco, visible from Hwy. 101 and home to volcanic spires and the endangered California condor. Its gateways will be Hollister and Soledad. It is among the smaller, but not the smallest, of the national parks.

The law was the brainchild of Rep. Sam Farr, D-Monterey, and carried in the Senate by California Democrat Barbara Boxer. It faced no opposition once a wilderness designation inside the new park was scaled back.

Officials contend the park management will not change. Local officials hope the designation will draw visits from European tourists who plan trips around the national parks; locals who use the area now fear for its solitude.

Farr’s statement: “The Central Coast has long been recognized for our beautiful shoreline, where mountains meet the sea. Visitors have traveled the world to see our coast but now they are going to come to also see our cliffs.”

“I thank President Obama for signing this bill, which will help us attract even more visitors from around the world to one of California’s greatest treasures,” Boxer said in a statement. Obama also signed Boxer’s bill to name a Sierra peak after California Olympic skier and environmentalist Andrea Lawrence.